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Biblical and Theological Reflections on the MWC Tagline
Presented by Thomas R. Yoder Neufeld to the MWC Executive Committee at their meeting in Curitiba, Brazil, in April 2024. I. Following Jesus – “Who do you say that I am?” Introduction A year ago, at Camp Squeah in British Columbia, Canada, the EC developed a new tagline for the MWC: “Following Jesus, living out…
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The ‘Anabaptist Tradition’ – Reclaiming its gifts, heeding its weaknesses
A teaching resource from the Faith and Life Commission What does it mean for member churches of Mennonite World Conference to share anAnabaptist identity? What is the value of Anabaptist “tradition” – and what does that wordmean in a global context? What are our Anabaptist understandings of mission andfellowship? In 2009, the newly appointed Faith…
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Koinonia – The Gift We Hold Together
A teaching resource from the Faith and Life Commission The word koinonia has rightly become a central term and concept for Mennonite World Conference. In addresses, publications and programmatic efforts, leaders have been nudging the global Anabaptist community to a deeper relationship with each other. Even when we don’t use the word koinonia itself, much…
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Identity and Ecumenicity: A Theology of Interchurch Hospitality and Denominational Identity
A teaching resource from the Faith & Life commission Mennonite World Conference embarked on the first formal dialogue process with the Baptist World Alliance in 1989. Since then, MWC has entered into conversations with Lutheran World Federation, Seventh Day Adventists, Catholics, and, most recently, a five-year trilateral dialogue with Lutherans and Catholics. Seeing the value…
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Declaration on Conscientious Objection
In the world today there are still some countries that have mandatory military conscription, and there is a wide variety of policies toward conscientious objectors. The Universal Declaration of Human Rights (article 18) states that everyone has the right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion. In addition to the Christian foundation for exemption from military…
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An Anabaptist Theology of Service
A teaching resource from the Faith & Life commission Some weeks ago, I received a request from Bert Lobe to consider describing and reflecting on how the sixteenth century Anabaptists understood diaconal service, and how that understanding and practice developed historically. The idea was that this kind of study might provide a basis for discussion…
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Statement of solidarity with Indigenous peoples
Mennonite World Conference Declaration of Solidarity with Indigenous Peoples In the Christian Scriptures, we encounter God who hears the cries of the dispossessed and suffering, feels deep concern for their welfare, and moves to save. In the Gospels, Jesus Christ, the living example for the church, embodies God’s preferred presence with the neighbor who is…
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A heart with four chambers
A theological foundation for the work of MWC’s four commissions A teaching resource from the Faith and Life Commission The “Anabaptist tradition” is a historical movement, rooted in the sixteenth century Radical Reformation, of contextualizing the Bible’s apostolic and prophetic legacy as lived out by the early church. Tradition is a historic witness of moments…
